In the context of an application server, such as the Oracle Weblogic Server, users can configure database connectivity in the application server by configuring data sources. An application on the application server can look up a particular data source using a directory service, such as the standard Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI), and then request a database connection. When finished with the connection, the application can disconnect the database connection through the application server. Both application server administrators and software developers/programmers can create data sources. These are the generally areas that embodiments of the invention are intended to address.